Old Edger Breaks The Ice

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Trying to break the ice can make you reach for just about anything. When melting snow makes puddles that freeze overnight, I don't like to use salt, so when the edge of a snow shovel can't get under those slick spots, we start going through the gardening gear to see what might crack the ice enough to clear our pathways.

Neither the dandelion fork nor the spade really made a dent last week, so we reached for two of the oldest tools in the shed: edgers. A half-moon edger on a long handle really helped crack through thicker slabs. But the big winner proved to be my grandfather's wooden-handled Planet Jr. wheeled edger. Just rolling it across the ice on a sunny day, it easily sliced right through.

Back and forth, with no bending and no need to bang or batter the edge, that nearly-antique tool that kept my grandfather's garden so tidy for so many decades, made quick work of those sheets of ice. Thanks Pop-Pop, (who'd be pleased to know, yes, I did dry off and oil the blade before putting the edger away).